The 02X Submit Challenge is a new competitive race format that combines running and mountain climbing. And Daniel Bradford, 23, of Westport Island is one of its brightest stars.

Bradford won the 02X Summit Challenge’s inaugural men’s overall championship. Bradford was crowned champion after winning three of four circuit races this fall.

The O2X Summit Challenge is an off-trail, all-ascent race on a mountain course. The sport is the brainchild of four Massachusetts outdoor recreation enthusiasts looking to put some pizazz into the typical road race.

If you’ve never heard of the O2X Summit challenge, you’re not alone. Bradford didn’t know about it until this fall. He was competing in road race in Bethel when he heard about the O2X circuit.

The new sport’s organizers formed a company called O2X, and organized a circuit that offered prize money for four races in the northeast. The circuit consisted of races held at ski resorts in Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts and New York.

As the overall point series champion, Bradford won a $1,000. Each race winner earns $250 in the Single Diamond division, and $500 for Double Diamond.

Bradford finished third in the first event in Sugarbush, Vermont. The first winner was Nike sponsored runner Kenyon Neuman. Both Bradford and Neuman competed in the Double Diamond division. The course begins at a 1,531-foot elevation. The course extends up hill for three miles to an 3,035 feet in elevation.

The sport is geared toward outdoor enthusiasts like Bradford who enjoy running and hiking.

“I enjoy it more than straight-up running,” Bradford said. “It is more physically and mentally demanding than road racing. You’re constantly battling your inner voice, which begs you to quit.”

Bradford won the circuit’s three remaining races in Sunday River, Loon Mountain in Vermont, and Windham, New York.

Despite his instant success in O2X, Bradford described himself more of a “technical mountaineer” than a road racer. Bradford’s passion is more inclined toward rock, ice and mountain climbing than running. In high school, he didn’t run track or cross country.

At Lincoln Academy, Bradford was a soccer and lacrosse player.

“I had success in track at age 12 or 13, but when I was younger I was more drawn to soccer,” Bradford said. “So I’m not sure why I’ve done so well. I’ve had no history in the sport, but the challenge of getting up the hill as fast as you can was really appealing.  Also there’s a lot of variation in the course. One minute you’re climbing a rocky ledge, and the next you’re running through a brook.”

He said his training regimen includes running a lot of hill sprints, trail running along Maine’s rocky coastal shores, flat trail and long mountain runs, and running on sandy shores and beaches.

The O2X business partners devised the Summit Challenge on the core belief that natural terrain is both the most challenging and beneficial for athletic performance, according to Craig Coffey, a Massachusetts lawyer and O2X partner who began the circuit last spring.

Coffey is the only partner who isn’t a former Navy SEAL. The organizers wanted a challenging mountain setting to test a competitors’ strength, balance and dexterity.

“Running up a near-vertical hill tests a runner’s strength. The course requires a runner to show their balance by negotiating a fallen log. And show their dexterity by running on a rock field,” Coffey said.

This year, over 400 competitors climbed mountains and ran through brook streams on courses at ski lodges in the northeast. O2X is planning to expand the circuit to the western United States in 2015. The organizers are also looking to added more difficult courses next year. This year competitors competed in the Single and Diamond divisions. Next year, organizers plan on adding a Triple Diamond division

Bradford graduated from the University of Maine last spring with an Earth Climate Services degree. He is currently working in Portland as a carpenter. Bradford isn’t not sure if he will compete on the western circuit next year.

“I would like to, but the sponsors would really need to provide funding for travel and expenses,” Bradford said. “I really enjoyed the northeast circuit and look forward to competing in those events next year.”

Organizers expect to make a December announcement regarding circuit expansion, according to Chris Hrenko, O2X Summit Challenge spokesman.